SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Credit Union League and business partner Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. are offering a workers compensation alternative for West Coast credit unions. Insurance for qualified credit unions in California, Hawaii and Nevada is now available through C-U First, Ltd., a credit union operated licensed mutual insurance company domiciled in Washington, D.C., and administered by Itasca, Illinois-based Gallagher Captive Services, Inc. According to the CCUL, with workers compensation insurance premiums soaring up to 80%, C-U First, Ltd. allows credit unions to take themselves out of the conventional workers compensation insurance marketplace. Premiums will be based on their own experience, rather than on the aggregate experience of numerous companies from a variety of industries. "California has gone through horrific workers compensation insurance rate increases in the last couple of years," said Kevin Brady, CIC, division senior vice president, Gallagher Captive Services, Inc. "The conventional insurance marketplace all but vacated the state, creating an availability problem, and to another extent a pricing problem." The league also said there are tentative proposals to expand coverage through C-U First, Ltd. to credit unions in other states.